It is Done! (The 7th Bowl) | Revelation 16:17-21 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Bible Study Series)

Let's come together to the Book of Revelation in chapter 16 as

we seek to complete this chapter together.

By God's grace, it is done. What comes to mind when you hear

those words? Perhaps for many, they point

back to that sacred and triumphant moment when Christ

declared it is finished on the cross, His work being complete

there for our salvation. And rightly so.

But today we're going to be reminded that this is not the

only time the Lord would proclaim a work being complete.

We are going to see that He's going to share similar things

again in a future time, but for an entirely different reason.

What we're about to consider is the Lord declaring something to

be done in connection to what will occur when an appointed

Angel will pour out the 7th and final bowl of God's wrath upon

the earth. And we're going to read it

together here in Revelation 16, beginning at verse 17 down to

the end of the chapter before we seek to understand God's mind

behind it. The 7th Angel poured out his

bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple

from the throne saying, it is done, And there were flashes of

lightning, rumblings, peals of Thunder, and a great earthquake

such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so

great was that earthquake. The great city was split into

three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.

And God remembered Babylon the Great to make her drain the cup

of the wine of the Fury of his wrath.

And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.

And great hailstones, about 100 lbs each fell from heaven on

people. And they cursed God for the

plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

Father, again we've come to a text where we encounter people

cursing you, but we come to bless you.

We come to honor you and praise you and lavish you with our

adoration. We pray that in this moment we

would worship you. And our listening and our

hearing and our receiving give us clarity, give us application,

and may every truth that is unleashed draw our hearts closer

to Thee. We ask these things in Jesus

name, Amen. So the reason why we read here

the Lord saying it is done from His heavenly throne is because

the 7th bowl of God's wrath that will be poured out will mark the

completion of God's judgments upon the earth.

In other words, everything that needs to be done before the

return of Jesus Christ to this world has been settled.

It has been achieved. And so the climactic event that

we have here essentially provides us the details of what

will take place in preparation for the ushering in of Jesus

Christ in his second advent. The curtains of the heavens are

about to be peeled back and it's going to be what we find here

that's going to see it happen. And one of the most interesting

things about the verses that we just read, this prophecy that

John provides, is how in the ESV the word great appears a total

of five times. It's emphasized great, great,

great, great. But what's more intriguing is

that if you read the original language, the word translated as

great, which in Greek as Megas, appears a total of seven times

in this text. Look back again here at verse 17

where it says the 7th Angel poured out his bowl into the air

and a loud voice came out of the temple.

See that word loud in the original?

It's megas. Scroll down here to verse 21.

Look at the very last word where it says here that something is

severe. It's going to be severe.

And that is in reference to the plague of this bowl.

And again, it's the word megas. Does that word sound familiar?

It's where we get the word mega. So clearly this is intentional.

This is John repeating this to amplify that the events under

this judgement will produce mega things.

Massive things are going to take place when this judgement is

executed. And for the sake of our time

today, I would love for us to consider at least three mega

things, 3 great things that will occur as the Holy Spirit

highlights them for us under this judgement.

The first thing that we have to consider here, though there are

others that we can investigate, is that there will be a great

earthquake. Look again at verse 18.

And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of

Thunder, and a great earthquake. Not just an earthquake, a great

earthquake, such as there had never been since man was on the

earth. So great was that earthquake.

I mean twice. You're saying it now.

Jesus, when He taught about the last days, informed us clearly

that some of the birth pains leading up to his return will in

fact be earthquakes. There will be literal shakings

beneath our feet, but this earthquake is the mother of them

all. At this juncture in the

Tribulation period, there will be a great earthquake, so

massive, so significant, that it will be historical.

John tells us plainly that man has never experienced anything

like this. And why that's important to

under score is because this is yet another confirmation that

what we're dealing with here in the Book of Revelation is still

yet to come. This is future, unless of

course, you are willing to interpret even this

allegorically, and some are willing to do that.

But I propose that that is very difficult to support because

following this description of this earthquake, we are given

physical and geographical dimensions.

So consider some of the impacts of this great earthquake.

Again, in verse 19, the great city was split into three parts

and the cities of the nations fell.

What are we dealing with here? Actual global impact, tangible

results, ramifications, consequences that you can see

and feel. And that is further confirmed

when we examine what else the Bible has to say about this very

earthquake. Because it's not just here.

In the Book of Revelation, John singles out one city.

He speaks about all cities. But in the beginning of verse

19, he brings to our attention the great city.

Which city is he referring to? Some would say Babylon because

in the coming chapters following this, Babylon is referred to as

the great city. But this can also speak of

Jerusalem, and that's probably more likely why, because

Jerusalem is separate from the other cities of the nations.

It's distinct, at least in this context.

And more than that, we know back in Revelation 11, verse 8, when

Revelation 11:8

we studied about the two witnesses who will be preaching

from the streets of Jerusalem that it was also titled as the

great city. And so the great city in view

here is likely Jerusalem. There are unique things that

happen to it in comparison to every other city.

It will be split into three parts.

And I believe this conclusion is confirmed again when we bring in

the totality of God's Word to shed light what's before us.

I invite you to go to the prophet Zechariah in chapter 14.

We looked at this last week when we consider how significant the

city of Jerusalem in the land of Israel is to our eschatology,

how the events of the last days will in full unfold.

And we're coming back here to these verses that we didn't look

at last week to see how this will add more color to our

understanding. Zechariah chapter 14, one of the

Zechariah 14 · chapter mention

most significant passages in all of the Bible, Chapters 12 to

chapter 14, don't come to a conclusion and how you

understand the last days without the book of Zechariah.

That would be a grave mistake. And I believe a lot of people

who have ideas about what the last days will look like are an

error because they ignore passages like this.

Look at verse 3 of Zechariah 14. Then the Lord will go out and

fight against those nations. Pause the nations that surround

Jerusalem. According to the previous verses

of this very same chapter, He will fight against those nations

as when He fights on a day of battle.

On that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies

before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be

split in two from east to West by a very wide valley, so that

1/2 of the Mount shall move northward and the other half

southward. And you shall flee to the valley

of my mountains, For the valley of the mountains shall reach to

Azal, and you shall flee, as you fled from the earthquake in the

days of Uziah, king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,

and all the holy ones with him. So again, we discussed, we came

to this passage to see how Zechariah adds further detail to

the 6th and 7th bowls of God's wrath.

But I bring this up to us again because I want us to consider

the geographical aftermath of Jesus Christ returning to fight

against his enemies. There's so many details here and

and what we find here in relation to our study is that

there will be an actual earthquake caused by the return

of Christ that's inferred by verse 5.

Look what he says and you shall flee as you fled from the

earthquake and the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.

Now notice that this earthquake will alter actual terrain in

Jerusalem. You have the Mount of Olives,

they'll be split in two. You have this valley that will

provide a pathway for the Jewish people to flee from their

oppressors just before the Lord judges her enemies.

And we even see a thematic truth being established here, do we

not? When God delivered Israel out of

Egypt, He brought them through a valley between towering walls of

water. And in this final act of

deliverance, they will escape through a valley between

mountains. He's come to save his people.

And the reorientation of the landscape upon Christ's return

is even further fleshed out for us.

Scroll down to verse 8. You see where I'm going with

this. I hope on that day, the same day

that Christ returns, living water shall flow out from

Jerusalem, half of them to the Eastern sea, and half of them to

the Western sea. It shall continue in summer as

in winter, and the Lord will be king over all the earth.

On that day the Lord will be 1 and His name 1.

The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Giba, the

Ramon, South of Jerusalem, but Jerusalem shall remain aloft on

its side from the gate of Benjamin, the place of the

former gate, to the corner gate, and from the Tower of Hannanal

to the King's wine presses. OK, we can't examine every

detail presented here, at least for now, but I want us to at

least arrive to one simple thing.

At the very least, can you and I admit and acknowledge the

remarkable detail of what will actually take place, the

topography that will ensue at the return of Christ?

I bring this to your attention because again, there are some

who claim that what Zechariah describes, the very verses that

you and I just read are, you guessed it, allegorical that

they've been fulfilled in history.

Somehow. This doesn't save anything of

what's to come. All of what you just heard can

be spiritualized, apparently, but the position of these

physical changes do not allow for such an explanation.

It reinforces contrary to the growing trend today.

May I remind you that the land of Israel still has relevance to

the Christian faith, namely in how we understand the return of

Jesus Christ and His millennial Kingdom.

So don't be ashamed of what you believe because it's founded in

God's Word. It's found here in Scripture.

And just as there was a real earthquake at Calvary when Jesus

Christ died, there will be an earthquake when He comes in

majesty and glory. One that will bring down every

city, one that will change Jerusalem itself as Jesus Christ

prepares the very area, the very region of His throne where He

will rule and reign forever and ever.

Now before we move on, I'd like for us to consider, yes,

Zechariah's details here. His his prophecy is very helpful

in helping us understand the end, but his attitude about it

is what I want to speak about momentarily.

Something happens early in Zechariah's prophecy that moves

me and I hope it moves you. There's like this interjection,

There's this shift in his tone, almost in his language and his

grammar. In fact, look at the last part

of verse 5 of Zechariah 14. He says then the Lord my God

will come and all the holy ones with him.

Do you see what's happening? As he's describing this

remarkable prophetic sequence of what's going to happen when

Messiah returns to this world, he can't help but speak in the

personal and he wants. It's as though he's so

emboldened, he is so moved by this manifestation, through this

prophetic vision, that he declares his loyalty to this

Messiah. He is my God.

He's not just the Lord. He's not just the God of Israel.

He's not just going to rule over the entire world.

He is my God. And I want to suggest to you

today that Zechariah's attitude, his posture, his act of worship

here should be produced in us when we study prophecy.

You know why some people study prophecy?

So they can get more ammunition for debate about who has the

more accurate eschatology and framework of understanding the

last days. OK, you guys argue all you want

and there is time to debate, but I want to be like this prophet

who in seeing and understanding what the Lord will do, causes

him to say, Oh, he's my God. I'm unashamed.

This should make you and I fearless.

This should cause you to be moved.

This should cause you to bend your knee and say this is what

the Lord will do. And as we put these pieces

together, as we realize Zechariah 14 talks about the

Lord planting his feet on the Mount of Olives.

And then we connect with Acts chapter 1, where Jesus looks at

Acts 1 · chapter mention

his own and he ascends on high. And the angels promise him that,

promise them that he will return the same way that he went up.

Oh, it's going to be the feet of Jesus that are kind of common on

the Mount of Olives. That's my God, who's given us

the playbook. So clearly for us to understand

exactly what's going to come to pass, there's going to be a real

earthquake and it's going to fulfill prophecy.

But Jerusalem is not the only city featured in this prophecy.

Come back to Revelation 16 and look at verse 19 once again.

And the latter part says the great city was split into three

parts, and the cities of the nations fell.

And God remembered Babylon the Great to make her drain the cup

of the wine of the fury of his wrath.

So another city is highlighted by John and it's Babylon the

Great. And we're given a preview of her

annihilation, her destruction. And so important to God is the

downfall of Babylon the Great, this future system that chapters

17 and 18 are dedicated to telling us how and what's going

to happen to Babylon. That's stunning to me.

This is important to God. What is Babylon the Great?

We've talked about this briefly in the past, and we'll look at

it in greater detail, as I just said.

But for now, you can know this for certain.

It is actually a literal future city that is going to be the

global hub of evil in the world during the tribulation period.

In case you doubt that, go to Revelation 18 and just peek for

a second and look at verse 9, Revelation 18, verse 9.

Revelation 18:9

And the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and

lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they

see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear

of her torment and say, alas, alas, you great city, you mighty

city, Babylon. For in a single hour your

judgement has come. More to come about Babylon.

But for now, for the sake of our meditation, today I want to

highlight one thing from our main text.

God remembered Babylon. God remembered Babylon.

That's not to suggest that he's forgetful or that he loses sight

of certain things or things escape his knowledge.

On the contrary, this reinforces that nothing evades him.

Nothing is ever lost. He holds everything and everyone

into account, whether it's our humble service or the sin of the

unrepentant. And unfortunately, many

interpret God's silence and his lack of immediate response to

ignorance, indifference, approval, or even non existence.

But John reminds us that God remembers, even if he acts

later. And here's how that might be

helpful for you and I as the people of God.

There's many things that God's knowledge can aid us in.

And here's one simple thought for you to consider.

There is not a single injustice that's been committed against

you that will be forgotten by God.

Not one. Go back to Revelation 18, verse

Revelation 18:20

20. Why did God judge Babylon, this

massive global international system that will export so much

filth and persecution? Revelation 1820 gives us one

reason. Rejoice over, O heaven and you,

Saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given

judgement for you, against her, for my people.

I'm going to judge Babylon. It's amazing.

One of the temptations that appeared throughout the Bible

concerning the people of God. Not the evil, not the wicked,

those who belong to God. Is that they would want to

avenge themselves. They would seek out revenge.

If you don't think that's possible, then make sense of

Paul's writings, like what he says in Romans 12 verse 19.

Romans 12:19

Brothers, never avenge yourselves.

Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.

You know what that really means. Make room for the wrath of God.

Give place to it. In other words, get out of the

way when somebody wrongs you. And I am fully aware that in the

room with people with this size, some of you have been greatly

wounded, not just by those who hate Christians, not just by

unbelievers, but those who profess Christ, who have bruised

you significantly because of their sin, their betrayal.

And I want to simply provide this remedy.

Leave room for God's wrath. He remembers.

He will not forget, even if it doesn't seem to be acting now.

There is a time coming, as long as they remain stubborn in their

sin. And perhaps you regularly

comfort yourself with the thought of how you can get even

with them. How I can pay them back.

Here's the problem with that. At least one of them.

As one person pointed out, when we seek to repay evil with evil,

we often do it with interest. We tend to go overboard, we tend

to go beyond, and we make a bigger mess for ourselves and

for others. So I want to encourage you with

one simple truth from the Scripture and revelation.

Find your comfort in the reality that God remembers.

He sees it all. Every word of gossip, every

slander, every physical abuse, every unfaithful act done by the

closest people to you, God remembers.

And if those who hurt you are children of His, He will

discipline them. And if those who hurt you are

enemies of Him, He will deal with them.

God remembered Babylon, and we're going to see exactly

what's going to happen to her in the coming days.

But we come to the final great thing for us to look at in this

passage, and that is in verse 20 to verse 21.

Let's read it again, shall we? And every island fled away and

no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about 100

lbs each, fell from heaven on people.

And they cursed God for the plague of the hail because the

plague was so severe. So we heard this already, that

the final effect of this earthquake that will take place

is that it's going to set the stage for the millennial reign

of Christ. And the extent of the damage

that it will cause goes beyond just cities falling and

crumbling. We actually read here that

islands, islands will flee and that everything else will be

made a plane. Mountains will literally vanish.

They will be brought low. And the way we're supposed to

understand this is that there is a shaking coming.

That's elaborated in the prophets and what we're going to

read in the coming chapters. But there will be some who will

escape the earthquake, who will not be directly impacted by it.

However, they will not be able to escape God's wrath at this

juncture because verse 21 says and great hailstones, about 100

lbs each fell from heaven on people.

So the final great thing we're looking at is a great plague, a

great plague. Hailstones happened today.

History records some massive hailstones that have really hurt

people, damaged property. The Bible records hailstones and

what we have here is something unlike we've ever seen.

Imagine a hailstone flinging from the sky around 100 lbs

each. That's God.

Those are God sized hailstones. But why hailstones?

That was my question. Why hailstones?

I mean, there's so many other things that we've seen in terms

of God's judgment, even his implementation of nature.

So why this? Well, here's what you discover

in your study of God's Word. Hailstones are frequently used

in scenes of God defending his people.

So in Joshua chapter 10, when that nation and that generation

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

entered into the Promised land early in their conquest, they

went to war with many kings. And in the chapter where the sun

stands still, we read that God sent great hailstones and flung

them in the direction of those who oppose God's work.

And again, in keeping with the theme of the Exodus, John seems

to recall and bring to our memory one of the plagues in

Egypt. Hailstones, the 7th plague more

specifically. In fact, you know what God told

Job? That one of His weapons of

choice, the top ones at least are hailstones.

Now you don't believe me, baby, Let me read it to you.

From Job 38, verse 22 to verse 23, Job 38, verse 22 to verse 23

Job 38:22 Job 38:22

reads. Have you entered the storehouses

of the snow or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I

have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle

and war. So with this in mind, when we

come to this seventh bull, we realize something.

God is going to war with the final generation of the wicked

just before Christ comes to earth.

But it doesn't end here. It ends here with the chapter.

It ends here, yes, with a description of what takes place

in the 7th bowl. But then there's this

parenthesis. There's there's this break in

chapter 17 and 18 and you can make a case at the sequence of

what we've just looked at continues where in Revelation

19, verse one. So we're going to have a break

here in the next two chapters of what's going to happen to

Babylon more specifically. And then it's as though John

presses the play button again in chapters 19, verse 11.

Just look at it because it's going to give you a preview of

something glorious. Revelation 19, verse 11.

Revelation 19:11

Then I saw heaven open and behold, a White Horse.

You know who this is, right? The one sinning on it.

It's called, it's called faithful and true.

And in righteousness He judges and makes war.

I'm not sure how you've ever imagined Jesus Christ returning

physically because He will come bodily.

But one of the things that will go before Him before He does

come with His Saints are hailstones.

And in fact, did you realize back in chapter 16, verse 17,

how the 7th Angel poured out his bowl into where the air?

We've seen these divine heavenly saucers being poured out upon

what? The earth, the sea, springs and

rivers, even the sun itself. But now we read that it comes

upon and into the very atmosphere.

Why is that? You know what I thought

initially? Because what's left?

But it's more than that. If we have in mind that this is

going to swing open the gates of heaven, so to speak, for Christ

to actually come, then there seems to be some kind of

cleansing agent with this bowl as it's being poured out into

the air. Remember what Ephesians 2 tells

us about Satan, that he's the Prince of the power of what the

air. And we can almost say it's as

though God through this is, is removing and purging that domain

of his influence as the Son of God is ready to enter through

the heavens and he will. It is done.

We're studying about this future declaration of finality and

victory, but we've also come this Sunday to reflect on it is

finished. If you believe in the truth of

it is finished, you don't have to worry about that.

It is done in this chapter. If you understand the magnitude,

if you understand the soul saving grace that comes with

those 3 words that Jesus said with His cracked lips and

bruised body and hanging flesh, then you have no reason to fear

the wrath of God. If you have not put your soul

into that truth, if you have not surrendered the fate of your

eternal future into the truth of the Gospel, then you have every

reason to tremble throughout the series in the Book of

Revelation. But we are not those who

tremble. We tremble, yes, in joy.

We we tremble in awe, but we tremble knowing also the great

friggins that God has given us. I'm clean, I'm saved, I'm safe

forever. That is what we are going to

savor this afternoon, the fact that Jesus Christ helps us, yes,

but more importantly saves us from the wrath of a holy God.

Let's prepare our hearts to celebrate that truth

with all that we've heard. Lord, we now turn our attention

to the truth that brings us here to begin with the gospel, the

saving love of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you would

help us remember the great price you paid, that we freely

receive, so that we can be free, yes, for eternity, but free from

sin now, free from the power and dominion of all trespasses.

All iniquity, all rebellion can be broken off of our lives, and

it has been because of the power of the blood.

Lord, give us reverence, give us a fear of you in this moment,

and at the same time, may we rejoice in knowing what is our

inheritance because of the great price you paid.

We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. Let's stand.

We're going to sing and reflect on these truths and we will

partake in a moment.